It Started with a Microwave
by PinkFireandGoldenStars
Summary: Gray really wanted to eat his lunch and he needed a microwave to do that. The guys across from them had a microwave but they wanted bathroom privileges before he could use it. Could this be the start of a great new friendship? Join the Fairy Tail gang in a brand new setting, the Magnolia Mall! Crazy shenanigans and cute moments ensue!
1. The Microwave

**Umm, hey guys! This is a little awkward, heh. I'm really sorry that I haven't been very present, I have had THE worst writer's block. I know you guys probably want some more** ** _Forget Me Not_** **or the sequel to** ** _A Rash Decision_** **BUT, this is a new little fic that I want to write, it's going to be continued if you guys like it and it will be, hopefully, pretty cutesy. Can't guarantee any regular updates, sorry, but I will try.**

 **Disclaimer: As usual, all characters belong to Hiro Mashima and this idea actually came from a Tumblr post, so props to them.**

 **Enjoy!**

"Ah shit!"

"Gray! Watch your language, there are customers!"

"Sorry man, the damn microwave just broke again." Gray said, rubbing the side of his face.

It was lunch time in the mall and Gray had just gone on his lunch break and was ready to heat up the delicious meal his girlfriend had made him when the damn microwave decided to break. With his face full of disappointment, he walked out into the main store, ignoring his grumbling stomach. He watched his colleague, Jellal, helping a customer find a tie. When Jellal had finished serving the customer and the shop had emptied again, Gray wandered over, forlornly holding his pasta. Jellal noticed his expression and rolled his eyes, getting his own lunch from the break room, a plain sandwich.

"Well, maybe it's a good thing that it's broken, you would have gotten pasta sauce all over your white shirt." Jellal pointed out.

Gray growled, "well if I did then surely I could use that new cleaner on it, couldn't I? Good advertising isn't it?"

Jellal chuckled and nodded, putting his half-eaten sandwich down on the counter and officially changing the sign on the door when he saw someone approaching. Gray smirked and let out his own little laugh at the look on the man's face.

"Aren't we like, not allowed to do that?" he asked,

"Gray, I'm the manager remember? I can do what I want, and I right now I want to eat my lunch." He replied, making his way back to the counter, leaning against it while he continued eating.

Gray stood in silence for a while, tapping his fingers on the container holding his bound to be delicious spaghetti, watching as Jellal ate his sandwich with a self-satisfied smirk. This lasted about thirty seconds before Gray tossed his arms in frustration, breaking his staring match with Jellal.

"I want to eat my damn lunch!" he grunted, tousling his hair in frustration.

"Why don't you go the store across from us? They probably have a microwave." Jellal offered, quickly growing sick of Gray's moping.

Gray made a face and crossed his arms, glaring out of the entrance of their store. Across from them was a games store, Dragon's Den. It was owned by two brothers and they got a fair number of customers, but it certainly wasn't of the same calibre of Jellal's suit store, Sorcière, a high-end store if ever there was one. And if there was one thing Gray was certain of, it was that the staff were definitely not of the same level of sophistication of he, Jellal and their other colleague, Loke. Or maybe just one particular member of their staff. Gray scowled at the thought.

"Yeah, they probably do, but they also have that annoying pink haired prick too." He grumbled, debating whether he could stifle his pride enough to be able to ask the flame-headed idiot for a favour.

Jellal gave him a knowing look and then a meaningful glance to the clock and then back to Gray. Gray rolled his eyes and sighed as he started heading out of the store, flipping Jellal off as he went. Making it past the entrance he could only just here Jellal's chuckles as he watched Gray's encounter with the gaming nerds of Dragon's Den. Gray entered the store and looked around the interior before he spoke to anyone. It was a pretty big store with electronic games in shelves on one side and board and card games on the other with a few game tables set up for different games. There was some game soundtrack playing in the store and the colour theme was reminiscent of cave, with cool images of crystals and piles of gems on the walls, perfectly suiting the name, Dragon's Den.

Walking further into the store Gray braced himself for the coming encounter with the staff. He really had a small tolerance for the pink haired one, what was his name? Oh well, he'd find out soon enough as the man, annoyingly, filling his thoughts walked out from the staff room, eyes widening slightly as they saw Gray standing awkwardly in the store, looking very out of place in his fancy, pin-stripe suit. _Natsu_. Right that was his name, Gray thought as his eyes strayed from Natsu's face to his name tag. Looking back to his face, Gray felt his eye twitch slightly as he saw Natsu's lazy smirk.

"Hey bro, what do ya need?" he asked.

Gray took a deep breath, internally preparing himself to sound nonchalant but instead coming out almost pleading.

"Do you guys have a microwave we could use?"

 **x-X-x**

It was a pretty busy day at the Dragon's Den and Natsu hadn't had a chance to leave at all to go to the bathroom. It wouldn't have been to hard to go if it wasn't on the other side of the damn mall. His older brother, Gajeel, hadn't really been any help either, constantly leaving to go visit his 'not-girlfriend' at the bookstore, leaving Natsu to deal with all the customers himself with no chance for a break. It's not that Natsu hated dealing with customers, there were usually pretty cool and he could have great conversations with them about the latest releases but not today. No, there were groups of wannabe gamers today and Natsu did not appreciate them crowding his shop, making his regulars avoid the store.

Plus, he really needed to go to the bathroom. Natsu loved the Dragon's Den, being an owner will do that, and he wouldn't change a thing. Except maybe how close it was to the damn bathrooms. Thankfully it was lunch time and the last customer had made their final purchase and he was finally free. As soon as the shop was empty he switched the sign and headed to the break room to tell Gajeel that he was going to the bathroom.

"Oi, Lug-nuts! I'm going to the bathroom!" He called out, startling Gajeel from a nap. Natsu scowled. "Are you kidding me right now? I'm out there dealing with a group of noobs and you're here taking a NAP?! What the hell man?!"

"Oh, calm down, you woulda done the same thing." Gajeel grumbled, sitting up and leaning his head against the wall.

Grumbling Natsu just turned and walked back into the main store, giving Gajeel the finger as he left. It had already been a long day and he couldn't be bothered dealing with his grouchy older brother. Only after taking a dew steps out into the store Natsu stopped short, his eyes widening ever so slightly.

Standing in the middle of his store was that icy bastard from the fancy suit shop across from the Dragon's Den, Sorcière or something. Natsu stifled a chuckle as Gray stood there, looking very out of place in his fancy suit and holding a Tupperware container of some really good looking pasta. Letting his face form into a lazy smirk, Natsu decided to start up the conversation.

"Hey bro, what do ya need?" he asked.

He watched as Gray took a breath and then grinned further when he finally spoke up.

"Do you guys have a microwave we could use?"

"A microwave? What, your fancy store doesn't have a microwave?"

Gray felt a jolt of irritation and his eye twitched again.

"No, we have one it just broke and I really want to eat my lunch, so if you have one, could I use it….please?" Gray muttered, forcing the words out.

"Hmmm I don't know, it is only for staff." Natsu said, a smug smirk still plastered on his face.

Gray sighed, he knew this would be annoying. "What do you want?"

"You guys have a bathroom in store, don't you?" he asked.

Now Gray hadn't been expecting that. He was expecting something like half his lunch or, anything else really.

"Umm yeah, why?" he prodded.

"Well we don't and, as you know, the mall bathrooms are ages away. Soooo, if you would let us use your bathroom then you guys can use our microwave. Like, all of ya, whenever ya need."

"Deal." Gray came back without any hesitation.

He really needed constant microwave usage and it wasn't really any trouble for a couple of guys to use their bathroom. It was always frustrating to go to the other side of the flaming mall just to get to the loos.

Natsu was surprised by the lack of reluctance but his smirk morphed into a grin. He walked towards Gray and stuck out his hand. They shook on it and Gray matched Natsu's grin.

"Great! Well, the microwave's in the break room, just tell Gajeel about the deal, he'll be cool with it. Now I really gotta go so, seeya!"

Natsu jogged out and into Sorcière without a second glance, heading to the back. Jellal was shocked to see him coming in, especially when Gray still hadn't returned, and the sign was still set to, 'At lunch'.

"Umm, hey man, you can't come in right now. We're on break." Jellal called, stepping out from behind the counter where he'd been sitting on the stool, reading a new book.

"Oh yeah I know, um, I made a deal with the black-haired guy…um."

"Gray?" Jellal supplied.

"Yeah, that's it! Um we made a deal, so you guys can use our microwave if we can use your bathrooms. Is that cool?" Natsu asked, thinking that he should probably check with the manager.

Jellal chuckled and shook his head, "yeah sure, that's fine. They're just up there."

"Thanks…uh…"

"Jellal."

"Right, thanks Jellal!" Natsu called, scrambling to the bathroom.

Jellal just sighed to himself and looked up to see Gray strolling back in, stuffing his face with the delicious looking spaghetti. They met each other's eyes and Gray just shrugged. Jellal rolled his eyes and sat back down, picking his book back up.

 _Well I think it's safe to say that this will be the start of something…interesting._

 **So. What did you guys think. Did you like it? Let me know! Next chapter will probably see some more charcaters! Thanks for reading and sorry again for my absence! :D**


	2. Wednesdays

**Hey guys! I know, I know, I'm sorry. I wanted to update but I've been super busy and then I lost motivation again for a little while. But I've got it back and I plan to get a few more chapters written up before I post again so they should be a little more frequent. Sorry again.**

 **Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima owns all the characters in this fic, as always.**

 **Enjoy!**

"I'm going on my break now!" Gajeel called, already halfway out the door.

Natsu glanced up from where he was serving a customer and checked the clock, frowning when he saw it read 2:15. Excusing himself from the customer, Natsu stomped over to his older brother, grabbing his shoulder and stopping his escape.

"Oh no you don't. It's school break, have you _seen_ how many kids are in here?"

Gajeel rolled his eyes, "yes idiot, I'm not blind. You can handle it."

Natsu growled and gestured behind him. Gajeel inwardly winced t how many people were in their shop. Kids were shoved against the shelves, the line for the counter had started snaking around the room and the noise level was insane for such a small area. Yeah, if it had been Natsu leaving, Gajeel would have killed him.

"See? You know the rules, when it's school break, we take our breaks together, when the shop is closed."

"But it's almost 2:30, I gotta go." Gajeel grumbled, anxious to get away on time.

"I don't care. You'll see Levy when we clock off, right now, I need you to help me out. Don't leave me here by myself." Natsu whisper-yelled, flailing his arms about in frustration.

"But it's Wednesday. I always see the shrimp on Wednesdays, come on Salamander. I'll be back real quick and then you can take a break. Yeah? Great, I'm leaving."

Gajeel shrugged Natsu's hand off his shoulder and dashed off before he could stop him. Natsu growled after him and turned back to his hectic store.

"Ah damn it." He grumbled.

It was always school holiday time when Natsu questioned his reasons for opening a games store, of all things. Heading back to the counter to apologise and finish ringing up the kid's items, Natsu remembered why. The kid was buying one of his all-time favourite games and was looking so excited. Natsu immediately viced his appreciation for the game and he and the kid had a good two minute geek session over the game before the people behind him started getting antsy. Waving the kid goodbye, Natsu turned back to the rest of his customers, his customary carefree grin back in place.

 **x-X-x**

"Thank you, sir, good luck with your interview." Gray smiled professionally, handing the customer his newly purchased suit.

Gray showed the gentleman out of the store, keeping his professional smile in place the whole time. As soon as the customer had left, he sighed, dragging his hand down his face. Another customer destined for a job that pays better than his and certainly has more benefits than his. Glancing over his shoulder, Gray caught sight of his two co-workers. ' _Well,'_ he thought, ' _at least here I can work with my mates.'_ Looking back out of the store, Gray grinned at the sight across from him. ' _And I'm sure it wouldn't be as entertaining as this.'_ In the store across from him, The Dragon's Den was swarming with teenagers, all bored and wandering on their school break. His new found 'friend' was struggling to keep up with the ever-increasing customers as he seemed to be by himself with a completely full store. Snickering quietly to himself at Natsu's obvious troubles, Gray turned back to his own store to find it devoid of customer as Jellal and his other co-worker, Loke, talking behind the counter.

Strolling over to them, Gray noticed that Jellal's face was looking a little pinker than usual and Loke had a devious smirk on his face. Gray raised an eyebrow, Jellal was a rather reserved man and it was usually quite difficult to evoke any sort of obvious emotion from him. ' _Unless…'_ Gray thought. Drawing closer, Gray's thoughts were confirmed as he heard the name of a certain scarlet-haired friend of his.

"Come on Jellal, I want some of Mira's cake! And I'm sure Erza wouldn't mind a little visit?" Loke prodded.

"I-I'm sure she's b-busy. It's the afternoon, and school break. Customers will um…will want cake." Jellal reasoned, his stuttering speech showing just how flustered he was.

Noticing that he too was quite hungry, Gray decided to join Loke in his quest for cake. And it had absolutely had nothing to do with the fact that seeing Jellal flustered was always a highlight for Gray, his usually stoic friend often making good use of Gray's short temper. Nothing at all.

"Yeah Jellal, I'm hungry too. Plus, you're the manager, gotta look after your staff, right?" Gray provoked.

"Not you too Gray." Jellal groaned, shaking his head at his nosey friends/co-workers.

Seeing as both of them kept nodding and gesturing to the door and making ridiculous pouting faces at him, Jellal just headed to the break room to grab his wallet. _Damn these guys, making me go get them cake. Nosey bastards._ Despite his less than friendly thoughts, Jellal wore a fond smile, well aware that his friends were only trying to help him make a move. It wasn't his fault, Erza was just, perfect. Jellal always felt completely inadequate compared to the beautiful girl he was head over heels for. Honestly if it wasn't for Gray, he probably wouldn't have ever been able to speak to her. And Loke's constant pushing ensured that their communication continued. It was all thanks to those two that he could now call Erza a friend, even if he did feel inferior to her.

"See you then, I guess. Strawberry cake or apple pie? That's today's specials." Jellal mumbled as he passed by his friends, pocketing his wallet and phone.

"PIE!" was the enthusiastic reply from Gray and Loke, both immediately feeling their mouths water at the deliciousness that was Mira's apple pie.

"Right, I'll be back soon." Jellal sighed, exiting the store.

 **x-X-x**

Levy glanced up at the clock, then to the door, frowning when she noticed the shop was empty of the man she wished to see, and it was 2:35. It was Wednesday, and she was on her break, waiting for Gajeel to show up. It was a little routine the two had created due to the fact that they both owned their own stores, and at such a young age, were still at university. Well, Levy was at least. Gajeel had already got his degree but then decided that he would put it to use later and opened The Dragon's Den with Natsu, who was doing a similar thing. Levy, on the other hand, was still studying but still wanted to find excuses to read, so she thought that opening her own bookstore would be the best way to do so. It was slightly more stressful than she was willing to admit, but she had always liked a challenge. Still, it meant she and Gajeel never really got to see each other, hence their Wednesday meetings.

Levy frowned again, still seeing no sign of Gajeel, he was never late, and it was frustrating that she couldn't even text him due to her phone currently being dead. Not only was Gajeel late but Levy was still serving customers, despite it being her break time. While the fact there was still a large amount of teenagers and children that liked reading enough to come to a bookstore of their own volition and keep it busy, made Levy extremely happy, she was exhausted and really just wanted to see her boyfriend, who she hadn't seen since last Wednesday as she had an essay on the development of the Egyptian hieroglyphs due, and it was worth a very large percentage of her overall grade, leaving no time spare time for Levy to see Gajeel or to catch up with her best friend, who was in the process of opening her own store.

Levy glanced back at the clock and seeing that it was now 2:40, she decided to just use the store's phone to contact her boyfriend when she saw him come tearing around the corner, almost knocking a display stand over, and stopped directly in front of her, panting as though he'd just run across the store, and knowing him, he probably had.

"So, where were you? You're ten minutes late Gajeel. _Ten minutes_! My break's only half an hour!" Levy yelled, flinging her hands up in the air and startling the few customers in the store.

"Sorry, I'm sorry Shrimp. It's real hectic back at the Den and Natsu had a little tantrum about me leaving. I am really sorry though Shrimp. I missed you." Gajeel blurted, his speech slowing and quieting to a fond murmur.

Levy smiled softly and rolled her eyes, slightly annoyed that she could never stay angry at her frustrating boyfriend. Walking around the counter, she wrapped her arms around Gajeel's waist, smile growing as she felt her tall boyfriend return he embrace, enveloping her small stature in his familiar arms.

"I missed you too Gajeel. Natsu must have been very stressed to even think about facing my wrath." Levy murmured.

"I'm sure that's what he was so worried about Lev." Gajeel chuckled.

"Aw, isn't that sweet! Gajeel _does_ have a soft spot."

Gajeel's head snapped up to see Jet sneering at him. Growling, Gajeel pulled away from Levy, grabbing her hand and dragging her out of the shop.

"Shut the hell up Jet. I'm taking the Shrimp with me and she'll be gone for the full half hour, and no I don't care if you're busy." He called, already heading to the bakery that he, Levy, and all their friends frequented.

 **x-X-x**

 _Devilish Delicacies._ A cosy little café situated right in the middle of the Fiore Mall. Owned by Mirajane Strauss, the café was home to some of the tastiest treats and the most delicious beverages. The interior was simple and quaint and was one of those places where people went to feel at home. There were booths fit for six people along both walls and smaller tables through the middle of the café, with the counter and kitchen up the back and a take-away only counter facing out from the place, where there was a display case of sweet and savoury treats and a coffee machine. Mirajane was always one to keep things in the family so her younger brother Elfman helped out in the kitchen and her younger sister Lisanna worked as a waitress after school. Mira also hired Erza recently, for a little extra help, when the café proved more popular than Mira had prepared for and an extra waitress was needed.

It was to this café that Jellal was sent on his little dessert run and where Gajeel and Levy had their weekly dates. Today was no exception, so when Jellal came wandering over to the café, trapped in his thoughts, he completely ran into the rushing couple, who were also ignorant to their surroundings.

"Ah sorry, I…uh, I wasn't paying attention." Jellal mumbled, intending to leave quickly to save embarrassing himself when he realised he knew one of the people he had run into.

"Oh, it's Jellal. Yeah, sorry man." Gajeel said, coming to the same realisation as Jellal.

Jellal quickly glanced over to the short girl holding Gajeel's hand, looking extremely apologetic. Jellal raised a brow at the man he'd only known for three weeks but had already started to form a friendship with.

"Natsu's a little overrun at the Dragon's Den, I'm not sure it's the best time for a date?" Jellal questioned.

"Gihi, nah, Salamander will be fine, 'sides, he owes me for burning my lunch the other day." Gajeel chuckled, flashing a friendly grin.

Nodding, Jellal bid the couple farewell and meandered over to the take-away counter, thinking over what he was going to say before he actually spoke to Erza.

And there she was, smiling at him, her eyes glinting with the type of joy that comes with seeing someone that you enjoy being around. Her long red hair was tied back in a high pony tail and her apron was covered in flour. _'She must have been helping in the kitchen today.'_ Jellal thought.

"Jellal. Jellal? Hello? Jellal!" Erza called, trying to bring the man out of his daydreaming.

"Ah! S-sorry! Hi, Erza! How's, um, things?" Jellal muttered, cheeks growing red from embarrassment.

"G-good, thanks!" She squeaked out, just as awkwardly as the man in front of her. Taking a deep breath, she spoke again with a much more confident tone. "So, what would you like today?"

"Um, got any apple pies left? The guys are apparently craving some." He said, also managing to get control of his speech.

"Sure! Let me just box one up for you!" She replied sweetly, hastily grabbing a fresh pie and boxing it up for him.

"Thanks Erza, how much do I owe you?" Jellal asked, reaching for his wallet.

"Eighteen dollars thanks." She replied, quickly performing the transaction. "Have you heard the news, by the way?"

"Um, I don't think so, what news?"

"There's a new shop coming, across the mall from here, I know the owner. Exciting don't you think?" She said, her eyes sparkling again with the news.

"Yeah, it is actually. There haven't been any new stores for a while. What's it replacing?" Jellal asked, trying to think what was on the other side of the mall.

"The dollar shop I think, you know, the one no one ever went in?"

"Oh yeah, I know the one. What kind of shop is it?" Jellal asked.

"I can't remember. I do know it's not a suit shop though, so don't worry." Erza smiled.

"Ha, that's good to know. Well, let me know when it opens, I'll go check it out. Thanks for the pie, tell everyone I said 'hi'. Have a good rest of the day." Jellal waved as he turned to leave, gathering the box in his hands.

"Will do, bye Jellal." Erza waved, a fond smile forming on her face as she watched him leave.

 _'Maybe I should take Mira's advice…'_

 **Welp, there you go. Sorry it's a bit of slow start. There'll probably be another similar one and then they'll be more...interesting. Hopefully. Anyway! Let me know what you thought, seeing people have enjoyed my stories makes me so happy! Sidenote: be on the look out for an angsty one-shot that I'll upload soon! Thanks everyone! Seeya!**


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